IND vs NZ WTC Final: Kapil Dev Sends Warning To Virat Kohli And Co

IND vs NZ WTC Final: The date is set and the fans cannot wait anymore for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand scheduled to begin from June 18 in Southampton. Both the teams have played some outstanding cricket in the last couple of years to qualify for the finals and eventually be crowned as the ultimate champion of the longest format of the game. Former India captain Kapil Dev has a piece of advice for the Virat Kohli-led Indian team ahead of the WTC final against New Zealand.

WTC Final: Kapil Dev’s warning to Team India

Incidentally, Kapil Dev was the first India captain to lift the limited-overs World Cup trophy in the iconic Lord’s balcony in 1983 and the former cricketer reckons that Virat Kohli and Co. will have to be patient with regards to their strategies and not be over-aggressive against New Zealand in the WTC final. The former legendary all-rounder noted that it will be very important for both the teams to acclimatize well in the English conditions at the earliest.

“Test cricket is about sessions. Each can be intriguing because of the weather factor. Within minutes, it changes from sunny to cloudy. So you have to be tactically good and technically sound when you play in England,” said Kapil Dev in an interview to Mid-Day newspaper.

The former Indian cricketer stated that India is looking a superior batting side as compared to New Zealand. However, he also mentioned that things will depend a lot on how the Indian batsmen tackle the English conditions.

“India look a superior batting side. How they tackle the conditions is important. To me, India’s batting will hold the key. The bowlers provide a solid back-up to India’s cricket campaigns these days but the quality of batsmen will stand out in the final,” he added.

Kapil Dev offers advice to Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant ahead of WTC Final

Kapil Dev further stated that the Indian captain Virat Kohli definitely has the ability to excel in the English conditions but he has to wait for his moment of dominance. The former Indian captain noted that patience holds the key to do well in England conditions as trying too hard or too early doesn’t work. Kapil also mentioned that Rishabh Pant has become a very mature cricketer now and should look to spend more time on the crease rather than looking to hit every ball.

“I expect him (Kohli) to excel. Can you really shackle him? He is a natural when it comes to adapting but I would caution him to not be over-aggressive. He will have to measure it session by session. He’ll be better off waiting for his moments of dominance. He will get his runs with a bit of patience. Trying too hard and too early doesn’t work in England where you need to watch the movement of the ball. If you play seam and swing well, show patience, you will succeed in England,” further added the 1983 World Cup-winning captain.

“He looks a very mature cricketer now from the time he came into the side. He seems to have far more time to play his shots and obviously his range of strokes is awesome. But England will be challenging. He must spend more time in the middle and not just look to hit every ball. We used to say the same about Rohit Sharma, who had so many shots, but would step out and get out so many times,” Kapil Dev concluded.

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